Shadows of Your Dreams

Chapter 6

It took a few weeks until the first rent of the apartment had been paid and the small family could move in. So, the first day Betty and Jughead were able to relax by lying on their new bed together, it was the beginning of April, and just a few days past Bea's two-month birthday. The little girl had started to make sounds and gurgle as an answer to Betty and Jughead's speaking. She still hadn't slept peacefully through the entire night, and the two grownups were exhausted. They tried to move, clean the house, pack, unpack, and keep the baby entertained, all at the same time. Even now, Bea was in between them on the bed, and the two were excited and happy to found that she was able to lift her shoulders while on her tummy.

"She looks so much like you," Betty murmured to Jughead, not exactly in a cuddling position, but her head was placed on his biceps and his nose was in her hair, leaving them satisfied, lying in a weird V-position in the bed.

"How so?" the guy asked, amused.

"I don't know... The eyes are still brown sometimes, but they're yours. And her ears are the same as yours. The hair probably too."

Jughead smiled proudly, looking at his daughter between them, living her own life. Even though neither he or Betty had been part of the pregnancy or had gotten to see how she was born, both of them felt weirdly attached to the kid. They loved her unconditionally, after only two months of being together.

"Maybe she ends up having blond hair," he said. "I mean babies change the color in like month five, right?"

"Yeah, maybe... Even though I think it would be adorable for it to turn black like yours. With these curls." She touched the baby's hair with her fingertips and Jughead turned the little girl to sit up against his stomach so that she could see both of them.

"Hey, sweetie," Betty said when the little girl held her eyes on the woman's face. "Are you tired yet?" As it had happened lately, she got a quiet short cooing response, making Betty nod like she had understood something. "Well, then why don't we go take a nap?"

"I'm pretty sure she told you to shut up and mind your own business," Jughead said thoughtfully, making Betty giggle while rolling her eyes. At her happy face, Bea smiled as well, gurgling again. Betty smiled and leaned over to her, giving her a kiss on her forehead.

"You're so cute," she whispered and planted a few more kisses on her cheeks.

"What about me?" Jughead pouted with a frown, obviously acting.

"Aw, you're cute too," Betty said with the same baby voice and kissed his forehead with a grin on her face.

"That's it?" Jughead chuckled. "A kiss on a forehead?"

"That's what she gets when she's adorable," the blonde teased.

"Obviously, if she drools. Do I?" Just as Betty giggled, he kissed her with a smile and afterward nodded, a satisfied look on his face. "Thank you."

"Hey, baby," Jughead smiled when he entered the kitchen and placed the grocery bags on the tiled kitchen floor.

"Hey," Betty smiled, a bit of nervousness lingering in her eyes, and kissed him back when he leaned in. "Got everything?"

"Yep." He leaned over to Beatrix who was seated in her seat on the table, watching the two interact. "Hey, Bea. When did you wake up again?"

"She was hungry, I think," Betty sighed, shaking her head with a teasing smile. "You gotta watch your genes, Jones. I'm gonna run out of money with you two."